Guns rule the open battlefield, mowing down the enemy in a ferocious hail of fire or thunderous volley. Even in the crowded and shadowy Underhive, firearms still have dominance, though it isn't nearly as complete. In this dark and cluttered place, it is possible to get close enough to take your foes down personally, bashing their skulls in with an iron bar or running them through with your fighting knife. Although possible to get to grips with your foes, it isn't easy or commonly advisable: if he spots you coming you're in big trouble. However, if you can blindside or bushwhack your opponent, then you might just gut him before he knows what's happening. Many gangs enjoy fighting the enemy up close much more than simply shooting at them from afar and so will try hard to engage in this way.
MIXIN' IT UPThere are two factors involved in who will come out on top in a fight: skill and equipment. A fantastic knife-fighter still has to fear an average swordsman simply because of the extra reach his longer weapon gives him. Therefore, these are the factors I have based my system on. Both fighters must roll a number of D6 equal to their Fightin' characteristic ("attack dice"). As with shooting, any dice that score a 5+ are called Hits and any that come up a natural 6 allow you to roll an additional dice. These Hits are added to your longest weapon's Reach characteristic (e.g. knife=R1, axe=R2, sword=R3) and the total is compared to your opponents. Whichever fighter scored higher wins and hits their foe once at a strength equal to their Body rating plus any modifiers from the weapon.
CLOSE COMBAT SUMMARY
COMPLICATIONSSurpriseSome times the rules will tell you that your opponent is Surprised by your attack. In this case, the combat is fought as normal but if your opponent wins he merely manages to fend off your attack and no longer counts as surprised. In the case of a draw, the Surprised model remains surprised for the next turn as well. This is also the case if they should lose, though they will have more pressing concerns by then!
Fighting With Two WeaponsA fighter with a weapon in each hand is at an advantage over a less well equipped foe. To represent this, he may re-roll any of his attack dice once if they fail to score a hit.
BushwhackingA fighter struck from behind is in serious trouble. His opponent will barely need to slow down to kill him. To represent this danger, when a fighter Bushwhacks an enemy the combat is resolved in the movement phase and the attacker automatically wins, scoring a Critical hit on his opponent. Should they somehow survive this without being taken down, they will have to fight during the combat phase AS WELL and will count as Surprised.
Critical HitsIf you beat your foe by 3 or more hits, or are striking them in the back, you score a Critical Hit. Whether you hit just the right spot or simply didn't stop hacking away, the result is just as bloody - the strength of the hit is doubled. Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust…
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